Loyally Devoted
by MarionetteJ2X
Summary: Cedric and Sofia have always been loyal and devoted to each other, and the princess has recently also devoted herself to her duties as a protector, which constantly places her life in danger. When a mission goes awry and pure evil looms just within reach, these two friends must use their powers to fight not only to protect an endangered village, but also to protect each other (H)


**Loyally Devoted**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Sofia the First. It is own by Craig Gerber and Disney. I only own the OCs mentioned in this story.

**A/N:** I know, I know what ya'll thinking. 'Deth, why haven't you updated your crossover fanfic? It's been months! And now you're making another story?' I don't have any plans on abandoning that crossover story, I can assure you. I'm just having trouble placing in settings and plots for the following chapters. I already have a few paragraphs written for the next chapter but I had to stop and think of a way how to make the story flow gently. So, yeah I'm a bit stuck on that one but, yes I won't abandon that. It's too precious for me to not continue it.

Also for this story, this is my first solo story for the Sofia the First fandom. The idea came when I was suppose to draw a comic that day but, it became a hassle (not to mention too many mistakes since I used the 'traditional' way of drawing it) and decided to just turn it in to a fanfic to make even more sense of what's happening in it than that on the drawing. This only contains two chapters so, hopefully I can write down the final chapter for this story soon and on towards my classic crossover story. I had a little trouble wording and phrasing this story at first, since no matter how much I'm good at it, English is not my first language so, yeah. Also, a _huge _thank you for AquaTurquoise for helping proofread my story with the use of some of her 'AquaTurquoise-ness' magic touch. XD

Well, I ain't about to let you wait on reading (which I already did so *slaps self* bad Deth, bad!) lol! Enjoy reading everyone!

* * *

**Chapter 1: **Through the Fire and Flames

* * *

"_Sofia…"_

Pain. That's what first registered in her mind when she slowly dragged her consciousness to the voice calling out her name. Her body ached in the most unpleasant way she could have ever imagined. But pain was no longer a stranger to her. Ever since becoming the first young non-magical protector in the Mystic Isles on the day of her graduation at Royal Prep, she'd been assigned to some missions where mostly being injured on duty was unavoidable. But being the kindhearted and selfless person that she is, she was willing to endure anything she might come across in her path to protect those who were very dear to her.

But, what she's feeling right now was more than she can endure. Her petite small form could take so much. She could feel the pain shoot up on her upper left arm and could feel a dull headache coming in. All in all, she felt like she just got run over by a dozen carriages. She slowly opened her eyes. Unfocused blue orbs tried to make sense of the blurry outline of a person hovering above her. She tried to remember everything that had happened before she fell unconscious. She closed her eyes again and breathed. Slowly, unwillingly, memories started flowing in her tired mind.

* * *

_***Flashback from Earlier***_

Her mission had been simple on that faithful afternoon: Help some villagers outside of Enchancia. They needed assistance on their river where they mostly get their water supply from. It appeared that it had mysteriously been dried up overnight. Chrysta, the Crystal Fairy, and also Sofia's former trainer, and friend, sent her down from the Mystic Isles to the village below with the assistance of her unicorn friend Skye, to try and help the already struggling village. She heard that the village had suffered a severe grassfire which burned down hundreds of homes within a span of an hour a few years ago and was recuperating slowly. They didn't know what caused the fire since it happened so late one evening. They thought that some campers might have forgotten to snuff out their campfire and the winds might have picked up some leftover embers which started the aforementioned grassfire.

She cringed a bit when she remembered a few months ago, the day where her dad sort of got her a 'break' from her potion making during her lessons with Cedric.

* * *

'Focus, Sofia,'_ She thought as she opened a vial that released a few sparks every now and then. She was helping Cedric make a potion for the plants. It was the drought season and the plants, including the village crops, were withering away. Her friend surmised that they should make an artificial rain cloud that would spray water on its own whenever the ground started to dry up again. It was a brilliant idea and her dad, King Roland II, was ecstatic about the plan and couldn't wait for them to show him the final product._

_C__edric and her dad were getting along so well now right after the whole Grimhilde's Crown fiasco and Wormwood's shocking betrayal those long months ago. She would always find herself playing along with the two during a game of Dazzle Ball. One time, her sorcerer friend taught her how to do the Royal Ricochet to defeat her dad, which the latter had pouted over during the whole ordeal, but it was all in good fun. She had never seen Cedric so happy to be with his former and current friend and having the greatest time of their lives. But she knew that was too good to be true after all. One day, she walked into his tower to take him to have tea in her secret garden, but she paused when she saw him sitting on his usual rolling stool. He was staring blankly toward his former raven's perch, which was a really sad sight and it made her heart ache for him. She knew he was still hurting from the inside after his familiar Wormwood's betrayal. So she did everything she could to take the sorcerer's misery away by coming to visit him every single day to either be his apprentice or to just be his best friend and hang out with him._

_Cedric knew that Sofia was his only true friend ever since she was eight before reconciling with his sister, Cordelia, and earning her dad's trust again. And after previously saving her from being trapped in her amulet a few months ago, she had the utmost confidence in him and knew that he would do great things for the kingdom. He wasn't called Cedric the Great for nothing, after all. _

_Sofia shook her head and continued concentrating on her potion. She closed one eye and stuck out her tongue as she focused on pouring the contents of the vial to the boiling cauldron._

'Just one drop of this concentrated pollen from the begonia flower and I'll finish our artificial rain cloud potion. Ooh, I just hope Mr. Cedric will be happy with the outcome.' _She giggled_.

_Right as the drop of the liquidized pollen reached the cauldron, Cedric came back to the tower with a basket of herbs. He smiled toward her as she looked up from her work. She was about to tell him of the potion when she saw her sorcerer's smile drop as he quickly ran toward her. She wasn't able to register everything quickly enough when Cedric scooped her up into his arms and tipped over a wooden table before hiding both of them behind it. She was about to question him when…_

_BOOM!_

_The force from the explosion almost destroyed the table behind them. She curled her body into a ball as Cedric's body and his arms surrounded her while also protecting her from the flying debris that scattered about most of the tower. When it was over, Cedric uncurled himself and quickly stood up when he saw the fire almost engulfing most of his tower. He immediately fished out his wand and casted an extinguishing spell. After all was calm again, he immediately knelt in front of Sofia and checked if she got injured during the whole ordeal._

"_Sofia! Are you hurting anywhere? D-Did you get any scratches at all? Sofia, talk to me!"_

_She felt bad for snickering over Cedric's worrying over her like a distressed mother goose but she couldn't help it. _

"_Mr. Cedric, I'm fine. You protected me, remember?" She stood up with Cedric's help and looked around the tower. Everything was a mess, from the half-burned books on the shelves to the broken test tubes on the sorcerer's worktable. The two were able to maneuver themselves from the messy tower and went toward the destroyed cauldron. Cedric crossed his arms and eyed his apprentice._

"_I don't get it. I thought you followed all of my instructions and added in the begonia pollen, Sofia? Why did it end up almost destroying half the tower?"_

_Sofia was about to defend herself when she paused and she looked down. She forgot that she was still clutching the vial of the concentrated begonia pollen in her hand._

"_Mr. Cedric I did what you told me! I even have the vial of begonia pollen. Here." She gave the vial to Cedric and he then put it in his periphery._

"_Sofia… This isn't the begonia pollen."_

_Sofia blinked. "…Come again?"_

"_This isn't the begonia pollen. This is a concentrated volcanic ash from the active volcano of Mount Baragas. It and the begonia pollen have the same shade of color but have a difference when it you uncork it from its vial. The begonia pollens release only a puff of smoke while the liquidized volcanic ash releases only an amount of fiery sparks."_

_Sofia looked pale as she was staring at the vial and toward a worried Cedric._

"_I-I'm so sorry, Mr. Cedric. I-I messed up I-…" She hiccupped as she tried her best not to break down right in front of her friend. _

'How could I have been so careless? I could have gotten us hurt really badly. Why didn't I listen to him during our lessons more carefully?' _She wiped away tears that were now forming in her eyes. Cedric must have seen the action and immediately knelt before her. He put his hands on her shaking shoulders._

"_Sofia, please don't cry. It wasn't your fault."_

"_Yes, it was!" she wailed. "I almost got us hurt, and if only I had been paying attention more to your lessons, this wouldn't have happened! I even destroyed your tower! This was all my fault, Mr. Cedric. I should be the one to take the blame! I—" She was cut off from her self-loathing when she felt Cedric's arms encircle her and pull her in to a gentle hug._

_Sofia could only stiffly stand as Cedric started combing her hair with his fingers. She was shocked, to say the least. Cedric was not one to initiate hugs. That was her job! But…_

_She sniffed as she returned her mentor's hug. She felt really safe in his warm embrace as he continued to sooth her and whisper to her words of comfort. He really was different from the Cedric she knew back then. And she wouldn't change that for the world._

_After a little talk with her mentor and a little cleaning up, her dad and Baileywick, along with a few guards, went knocking on the tower door and asked the two of them what had happened, since they'd heard a loud explosion in the tower. As usual, Sofia went on and explained everything that had happened, and Cedric squeezed in his own perspective when the princess started blaming herself again for what had happened. Once everything was calm again, her dad requested that the two withhold the potion making for the time being, especially after the incident, which the sorcerer and princess reluctantly agreed to with slow nods. They both continued their work and searched another way to make that artificial rain cloud without the use of potions._

* * *

Eventually her dad lifted the ban when Sofia kept on insisting that she'd be careful, and she may or may not have given him the puppy dog eyes to add in the pressure. She giggled at the memory and looked down. They could now finally see the village from their periphery.

Sofia and Skye landed gracefully in front of the village. The princess instructed the unicorn to stay put, indicating that she would deal with the problem at hand; thankfully, her winged companion dutifully complied. She entered the village and asked some passersby where she could speak with their village leader.

"He is currently investigating our dried-up river," said a young man, who was carrying a basket of corn. "You should have seen it. The river looked like the sun just touched down and dried up all of our water. You can even see the cracks forming where the water used to be! And you know what the _weirdest_ part of it is? It dried up overnight. _Overnight_. Not even a single drop of dew was spared. I don't know if it was a natural occurrence or if someone was just playing a mean prank on us. Honestly, we're already struggling enough as it is."

Sofia felt her heart reach out to the villagers. She needed to do something quickly. She asked the man for the direction of the river. Upon receiving a response, she thanked the kind man and went down a long path he'd indicated the dried river to be.

As she got there, she noticed a line of people looking down at the dried up river. They looked so solemn, and they had every right to be. The source of their living just disappeared without an ounce of a clue what had happened to it. She turned her head to her right when an older man carrying a staff cleared his throat to address the people.

"My fellow villagers, it is a terrible tragedy that our river has disappeared completely," he said with a tired and raspy voice. He wore a long dirty white robe with a red sash around his waist. He wore a pair of brown shoes. He had graying hair and cerulean eyes that shined with wisdom as he kept his eyes gaging the villagers' reactions. The people started murmuring to each other in pure worry. The older man raised a hand that silenced them immediately as he continued, "We followed the path to the two ends of our river and discovered that even those were all dried up as well. I don't know what might have caused this; however if anyone knows who can help with our current predicament, I'm open to any suggestions."

"I can help!"

The villagers looked toward the direction of the princess where her hand was raised and a look of determination was oozing from her demeanor.

The older man stepped up to the young protector. "May we know who you are, young one? You don't seem to be a resident of our humble little village."

"I'm one of the protectors of the Mystic Isles. I was actually sent here to help with your situation."

The older man's eyes widened a fraction and a wistful smile appeared on his face. "The Mystic Isles, you say? I first heard of that place oh-so-many years ago, but I never got a chance to go there because of my aging body. I heard that some sorcerers have traveled there and returned more magically competent-if that was even possible. If I had been any younger, I would have gone up there to train more of my magic."

"Wait, magic? You're a sorcerer?" Sofia gasped as she gaped in awe at the chuckling man before her.

"Indeed, I am. Well, 'was' since I've already retired. My name is Nagi. I am the leader of our humble little village. My magic isn't as strong as it used to be all those years ago. But enough about me; may I ask what your name is, young lady?"

Sofia curtsied as much as she could with her new protector outfit. "My name is Princess Sofia of Enchancia. Sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier on since I really wanted to help with your problem."

Nagi blinked as realization hit him. "Princess Sofia of Enchancia? The one who defeated the evil Vor?"

"Wait… How did you know about Vor?" she asked somewhat warily.

"Your name is known around the magical world. That you, Princess Sofia, had bravely fought the evil entity that is Vor and saved the kingdom from her wrath." He smiled knowingly at the princess, who only gaped at him and blushed at the revelation that the entire magical world knew her.

"A princess?"

She and Nagi whirled toward the villagers, who had gasped and all bowed down or curtsied in front of a flustered Sofia, who was waving her hands in front of her. "Th-There's no need for formality! I'm just here to help in any way I can." She still felt uncomfortable about what happened those months ago. That time with Vor was the most dangerous experience she had ever gotten herself into, other than that time where she'd almost gotten eaten by the earth itself thanks to Prisma, before getting saved by her friend Cedric.

Nagi smiled gently as he patted the blushing protector's shoulder reassuringly. "And we thank you for helping us. We don't know what will happen if this problem continues. We need all the help we can get to solve this mystery."

Sofia snapped out of her flustered state and beamed toward the village leader. "You can count on me, Mr. Nagi!"

* * *

Sofia, Nagi, and a few village men tried to check the two end parts of the river again, per request of the princess. The villagers ultimately figured that they needed a set of younger eyes to thoroughly investigate any details that they might have overlooked.

As they got to the first end, Sofia couldn't help asking, "So, the river just suddenly vanished in one night?" She stood still in front of the dried end part of the river. She could easily see the cracks on the river bed from her angle.

"I'm afraid so. And you know the strangest part? This happened numerous times before. We paid it no mind at first, since the water would always come back to the river the following day. What's strange about the state of the river right now is that it's almost a week now since the water disappeared. We've been struggling to find other sources to get our lives back on track, but even that is getting harder and harder as the days goes by." Nagi sighed as they continued their trek. "I have studied enough about the natural phenomena of this realm to know that this is quite unnatural. We don't know if it was caused by a sudden blockage where the water used to flow, or if the neighboring village has something to do with it. They have quite the grudge against us, you know? A few years ago, a dispute ignited between our villages over the ownership of this very river."

"They were against our claim that the river was first found by us and is closer to us than to them," piped up one village man.

Sofia frowned, "So, how did that pan out?" She really had a bad feeling in her gut, so she just had to ask.

"Not so good, I'm afraid." Nagi shook his head as he told Sofia and the village men to rest for a bit in a shady tree. A few gently declined though and decided to check and see what they could find. They were determined to solve this mystery. The retired sorcerer sat down on a boulder and looked up the clear sky as he reminisced everything from the past.

"It started a fight in both our villages, leaving many injured in the process. Even though they put up quite the fight, they were heavily outnumbered by us. I tried to make a peaceful approach after the fight where we could settle an agreement and share the river instead. But alas, their village leader, Terma, who was also a retired sorcerer from the south, refuses to do just that. He is a very selfish man, Princess. His very own tyranny was the cause of his own town's suffering. So it was no surprise that, one day, some of his own villagers, even the ones who got involved in the fight, moved here with us. We threw away any bad blood that we had against them and welcomed them with open arms."

Nagi closed his eyes to take a deep breath and released a deep sigh before continuing, "This did not go unnoticed by Terma, of course, and he swore to our village that he'll get revenge against us someday. And that was over three years ago. That's also when the grassfire started that burned most of our village into piles of ashes. But we can't blame it on the neighboring village since there was no proof or evidence of them getting involved." Nagi paused to look at Sofia, who had been sitting in front of him on the grass and was listening intently to his story. He could also sense the girl's worry radiating from her. Having been an experienced sorcerer, he could see people's characteristics in the aura that surrounded them through the use of magic. He only used it as a means of detecting any malicious intent amongst the people he encountered inside his village. His cerulean eyes softened toward the princess as he sensed a very protective aura around her.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to all of you, Mr. Nagi; if only we had known, we could have helped all of you," said Sofia as she sighed and hugged her legs to her chest, just imagining what all those people had gone through made her heart ache for them.

"You couldn't have known, Princess. There's no need for apologies. It wasn't anyone's fault. It's just unfortunate that the fire decided to catch on our village," the village leader reassured her as he patted her head gently with a withered hand.

"Elder Nagi, Princess! Quick, there's something weird happening on the riverbed!"

Both Nagi and Sofia whipped their heads toward the voice of a villager, who was waving an arm to get their attention. The princess quickly stood up before aiding Nagi, and they headed toward where the other village men had gathered.

When they got there, the villagers gave way to the princess and their village leader as they took a step forward and looked down at the dried river. There was nothing to see at first, but as they looked a bit closer, they could see that the rocks on the riverbed looked like they were waving and rippling.

"That's… peculiar," Nagi murmured and looked at some small trees that had gathered near the river. "And I don't remember having this many trees right here before. They would block out the flow… of the river." Nagi's eyes widened a fraction and he looked toward a very confused Sofia. "You don't think that magic is involved in this mystery of ours?"

Sofia automatically clutched her pink amulet. "I think it make sense if it is. I'll try casting a revealing spell on the river first so we can be sure."

The princess closed her eyes as she felt the warm sensation that came from her amulet as it glowed. "I wish to have a wand." As she said those words, magical sparks illuminated from her hands, and what emerged from the glow was a sorcerer's wand. She nodded in satisfaction as the crowd around her stared in awe at the small magical display. Sofia walked toward the empty river and to the forest. She then waved her wand with great precision and closed her eyes. She smiled a little when she remembered a similar motion she did back then. She also reminisced what her friend and mentor had told her during one of her down moments on spell casting.

* * *

"_I don't think I can do it, Mr. Cedric," she said one day during her apprenticeship with the Enchancian royal sorcerer while they were in his tower. "I just can't seem to get the wand motions right, and I keep messing up the incantations. Is there something wrong with me?" She sighed deeply and went to sit down on her usual rolling stool. _

_Cedric, who was mixing a potion, looked up from his work to his apprentice, who was now covering her face with her hands in apparent frustration. He smiled softly and placed his potion back on his desk. He rolled out another stool and sat next to his best friend. He patted her shoulder reassuringly as she looked up toward him tiredly. "My dear, there's nothing wrong with what you're doing. Maybe you just needed a little break."_

"_But, Mr. Cedric—" she blinked as he placed a finger on her lips to silence her. _

"_We both know that other than your apprenticeship with me, you also have schooling at Ever Realm Academy. Not to mention you have that story keeper role and your protector duties weighing on your shoulders as well. I know it's a huge privilege that a role like that has been bestowed upon you, according to your Aunt Matilda. But I think I've known you long enough to realize that no matter how much you want to help out almost everyone in this realm, you are still quite young and the exhaustion is clearly catching up to you." He smiled as his friend sighed deeply._

"_I can't help myself, Mr. Cedric. It's in my nature to help out anyone in need."_

_Cedric rubbed her back in comfort. "I know. Tell you what, you take a break first." He held up a hand as his friend tried to retort. "Uh-uh, you need this, Sofia. You need to freshen up that mind of yours from stress. Unless you prefer to have dark circles under your eyes and low tolerance to waking up early in the morning each time you come home late and exhausted?" _

_She smiled wryly. "You mean, like you?"_

_He sputtered for a moment and tapped his wand on her head playfully as she pouted in response. "You know what I mean." He crossed his arms and eyed his tired apprentice. "Take a break, freshen up, and then, _maybe_ I might teach you this… _interesting_ spell that I've encountered in my spell book." He smirked toward her as she looked up at him curiously. _

"_What does the spell do, Mr. Cedric?" _

_He only chuckled softly in response as he stood up and offered a hand to his apprentice. She accepted it and stood up as well. "That, my dear, is a secret for now. So… about that break?" He waved his wand and conjured up a picnic basket, hanging it on the crook of his arm as he offered his other toward her. Sofia only sighed and smiled appreciatively toward her friend and wrapped her hands on his offered arm. Both descended from the tower and toward the castle gardens to enjoy their much-needed break._

* * *

Sofia secretly smiled at the memory. He taught her a spell that day during their picnic about making the flowers bloom. He knew she loved hydrangeas and at that time they weren't able to bloom because of the ever-changing climate. He had given her a vase full of them on her 12th birthday. He had casted a spell on them so that they would remain fresh and beautiful for a very long time. It was the most thoughtful gift that he ever gave her, other than the snow he conjured just for her during Wassailia a few years back. She had kept that gift and cherished it like a precious piece of jewelry ever since. The break really did freshen her up that day, and she was eventually back to reciting spells back-to-back with confidence. He told her that whenever she found herself stuck, she should step away for a while and then return. Everything would be much clearer. And that was the advice that she had kept almost every day since.

On that break was also the day where she had an understanding with her mentor. He wasn't being secretive anymore like he used to back when he was still bent on overtaking her kingdom. He was more open toward her, which was a huge contrast to the Cedric that only knew her as an annoying and precocious princess all those years that he had known her. He would always rely on her for support whenever doubt started to creep up on him, and she would rely on him during her tough times either from school, story keeper assignments, or protector duties. He really was one of her best friends in the world and no one could tell her otherwise.

Sofia's eyes opened once again as her focus went back from the riverbed, and she finally pointed her wand as she recited the spell.

"_Riparia Revelare!_"

A purple blast came out from her wand and toward the riverbed. The scene in front of them started to ripple and the villagers had to take a step back, afraid that they might get caught up by the magic that was now surrounding the river.

Sofia winced a bit as her energy slowly sapped out of her. She heard collective gasps as she continued casting the spell. The scene in front of them started to ripple and throb like a heartbeat. Slowly the illusion was lifted from the river and the water was once again returned to the end of the river. The trees that had gathered around the river disappeared, and in their place was a small rocky wall that had been blocking off the water flow. Sofia stopped as she finished the spell and took a few deep breaths. Exhaustion was evident from her, which Nagi noticed, and he advised the princess to sit down on the grass to take a break.

The village leader finally was able to make sense of why the water kept disappearing from their river. He narrowed his eyes at the rocky wall that was blocking the water. He raised a glowing hand toward the wall and recited a spell.

"_Levitate!_"

The rocks slowly started to lift up into the air as the water finally flowed normally on the river. He placed the rocks away from the river, to prevent any further accidents that might block off the river again. He sighed and walked toward the princess, who finally regained enough energy to stand up and smile at him.

"We did it, Mr. Nagi! The water's back to your village again." She clapped her hands in pure happiness as Nagi chuckled softly.

"That we did, Princess. Thanks to your quick thinking, we finally uncovered the mystery of the missing river water." He frowned a bit as he heard the villagers cheering and rejoicing, happy to have their water back. Sofia looked at the older sorcerer curiously as he continued. "But that also means we have another mystery on our hands." He tapped his chin in confusion. "Who was responsible for the blockage? And who has enough magical experience to camouflage the water?"

'_That _was_ strange_', Sofia thought as she stood beside Nagi and watched the villagers celebrate. '_Why would anyone block off the river? Much less hide it with the use of magic. Unless…_' The princess looked up from Nagi who was now starring at the flowing water with an unreadable expression.

"Mr. Nagi? You don't think whoever did this, might be using the water for their own benefits, do you? And maybe that's why they had to resort to blocking and hiding it with magic?" She stared worriedly at the village leader as he sighed and look back at the princess.

"Observant as always, Princess." Nagi crossed his arms as he announced to the villagers that they should return home. As they all started walking away, Sofia and Nagi fell behind them as they continued their conversation. "Alas, you might be right. But we won't be able to conduct any more investigations at this hour. It's quite late already."

Sofia blinked and stared up the sky. She hadn't noticed that it took them longer than necessary for them to solve their not-so-little mystery. The sun was already setting and she could see a few stars blinking up in the sky.

"I didn't notice the time. I guess I was just really into solving and helping you guys with this mystery that I just kind of forgot." She smiled sheepishly as Nagi patted her head reassuringly.

"Don't fret, my dear. You're a real hero this day. Please, stay with us for a while and we will feast as we celebrate the return of our water and our living," he offered.

"No, no, it's okay, Mr. Nagi. I'm just glad that everything is going to be back to normal again for you guys. Besides, my parents might be looking for me. Also, I don't want our royal steward to have a panic attack because I'm so late and gather up a search party for me." She laughed at the thought of their castle steward, Baileywick, recruiting some guards to scour every inch of Enchancia for her. Because he _would_ do it, and she had no doubt about that.

Nagi chuckled good-naturedly. "I see. What wonderful people you have out there, Princess. No wonder they care for you so much. A good heart like yours is hard to come by. The way I see it, you're worth the search party."

Sofia's cheeks tinged pink at the older man's kind words. "Thank you, Mr. Nagi. By the way, I might ask the other protectors to come by tomorrow to help you with the remainder of this river mystery. I still have school and a big test the following day."

"Ah, yes. It's quite all right, my dear. But do come by when all of this is over. We'd still like to give you a proper thank you."

"But Mr. Nagi," she sighed as he offered her a hopeful look. "Okay, Mr. Nagi. You win." She giggled as he chuckled in response.

Sofia, Nagi, and the villagers continued their trek back to the village, happily talking to one another and ready to get their lives back together again, after getting their water back. All was going to be well again for their humble little village.

But sometimes, things just don't always go the way you want them to. For there is always that caliginous beast of the darkness, ready to pounce and snuff out any joyous light that may bring hope and happiness, trampling them with unspeakable terror and burning what's left of them.

* * *

When they all got back to the village, she thought that everything was going to be all right. Everyone would be happy that they finally got their water back and would finally live normally liked they used to. But she was so wrong…

Screaming. When they got back to the village, that's what they all heard first: screaming. Sofia's feet felt planted on the ground as she stood in horror. She watched helplessly as the whole village was becoming swallowed in flames. The rest of the villagers hurried off and rescued the women and children first before gathering water from the river with buckets to extinguish the fire from their homes. It happened so quickly, and Sofia hardly had any time to process everything. Here they were, finally resolving their water crisis and planning to have a feast that night, but then…

"Bandits!"

Sofia whirled around just in time as a few men clad in black rode in on their horses and began tossing lit torches to some houses that hadn't been set on fire yet. She raised her right hand and was ready to call the protectors for help when…

"Help! Someone!"

Sofia's eyes widened in terror as one of the bandits tried to take a child away from his mother. She didn't know what happened next. She felt her body instinctively move forward, and she summoned her sorcerer's wand again.

"_Inspiratione de Luminae!_"

The bandit screamed in pain as he was shot down from his horse by a blast of magic. The mother quickly hugged her distraught child and looked back toward the princess, who looked toward the unconscious bandit. Her hand with her wand was still pointed toward his direction. She could feel her knees shaking and almost loosened grip on her wand as she looked like she was close to tears. She never meant to hurt the guy. Bad guy or not, it had become like her second skin to never, _ever_ hurt anyone. But she'd seen the child hurting when the bandit had tried to take him away from his mother. She _had_ to do something.

She blinked her eyes rapidly and shook her head as she tried to refocus her mind on the matter at hand. She ran toward the mother and child and then knelt before them, checking if they had been injured during the attack. She sighed in relief when she realized that they were only covered in soot.

"Miss, tell me what happened. H-How did these bandits get here?" Sofia placed a shaking hand on the woman's shoulder as she tried to calm down her crying child.

"Oh, Princess, it was terrible! The bandits just came out of nowhere right after the water appeared on the river again and took our belongings before burning our houses down. We don't know where to go. There's so many of them, and we were no match. Some of our village men were injured badly. W-We don't know what else to do. We need help, Princess!" The woman broke down as Sofia tried to calm her down.

"Miss, please. You need to get out of here. I need you to get the rest of the villagers and run toward the forest. Keep heading north and you will find the kingdom of Enchancia. The royal family will aid you there."

"But your highness! We can't leave without you! W-What are you going to do?" The woman watched as the princess stood and clutched her amulet as it started to glow again. She looked with determination at the mother and child.

"I will protect all of you," she responded to the woman and looked back at her amulet. "I wish to summon Skye!" She smiled as her amulet glowed even brighter. They waited a few more seconds when they heard wings flapping at their direction.

"Princess Sofia!" shouted the winged unicorn as he landed before them, much to the mother and child's awe.

"Skye, I need you to lead the villagers toward Enchancia."

"My princess, what is happening?" Skye responded as he looked in panic at the burning houses before him, not to mention an unconscious man just a few feet away from them with his horse idly standing by.

"I'll explain all the details later, but right now I trust you to lead these villagers out of here. Do you understand me?"

"But Sofia, what are you going to do?"

Sofia sighed patiently at her trusted friend. "Please, Skye. We haven't much time. Lead them all out of here before anyone else gets hurt."

Skye could only nod stiffly in response as he addressed the mother and child to lead him toward the other villagers so they could evacuate the burning village. Sofia watched them as they ran/galloped away from her vision before her focus shifted toward the waiting horse. She calmed it down when she got near and communicated with it. After understanding the situation, the horse let the princess take control as they galloped toward the heart of the village to rescue any more civilians. Her plan of calling for the protectors was forgotten.

Sofia worked tirelessly left and right as she rescued injured villagers and led them away toward the forest. She used her magic in any way she could to put out the fire. She was just done snuffing out another burning house when she heard someone calling her name.

"Princess Sofia!"

She whirled around and gasped as Nagi came limping toward her, struggling, putting half of his weight on his staff. He looked disheveled and tired, as if he'd been going around the village and rescuing civilians like she did mere moments ago. His whole body was covered in soot and she could see a blot of blood forming on the former sorcerer's cloth covered knee.

"Mr. Nagi?! What are you still doing here? You're hurt!" Sofia jumped off the horse to aid the aging sorcerer when he held up a hand to stop her, trying to catch his breath.

"Princess, you need to get out of here quickly. We—"

The two paused when they heard a massive clopping of hooves coming from behind them. They whirled around as a cluster of men on their horses blocked their only exit out the burning village. '_The Bandits_?' Sofia thought as she clutched her own wand tightly.

A tall man wearing a black scarf covering half of his face descended from his horse and approached the princess and the village leader. Nagi immediately stepped in front of Sofia as he pointed his glowing staff and glared at the unknown man.

"Don't you dare take another step. You and your little band of miscreants already got what you wanted. Now leave and go back to where you came from or I'll have to make you do so."

There was a long stretch of silence before the surrounding men started laughing at the older sorcerer's threats. The tall man swiftly swiped Nagi's staff and broke it in half, as if it were nothing more than a stick. He then quickly unsheathed his sword from its holster before pointing it directly at the village leader's neck, which made the latter to take a step back.

"What a nice welcome to give your visitors, Nagi. You haven't changed a bit, though you look rather awful."

The princess was confused as to how the man knew Nagi. Maybe he was known all around this part of the land? She looked toward the village leader since he had been quiet during the bandit's speech. Without warning, Nagi released a magical blast from his hands, sending the bandit a few feet away from them. Sofia gasped as the other bandits responded by unsheathing all of their weapons.

"M-Mr. Nagi?"

"Stay back, Princess. This person is not what he seems." He growled as he stood his ground in front of the princess.

Sofia was about to respond when the fallen bandit started cackling. They look toward him as he stood up and dusted himself off as if nothing had happened.

"Temper, temper, Nagi. You better watch it or you'll age even more," the man taunted as he removed his scarf to fully reveal his face. He had short dark hair and tanned skin. His mouth curled up into a smirk that made Sofia a bit unnerved by it. Even his dark blue eyes looked like they were giving off an eerie glow in the darkness of the night. Nagi scoffed as he glared toward the other man.

"I should be asking you the same thing… _Terma_."

Sofia's eyes widened in shock. She knew that name. It was the name of the person who had a dispute with the former sorcerer over the ownership of the river. The one who made his people suffer, forcing them to move from their neighboring village. And also the one who told them that he'd get revenge on them. Sofia looked toward Nagi, who was barely keeping his anger in check. She then looked toward Terma and was startled to see that he was already looking toward her.

"My, Nagi. I never knew you'd stoop so low as to getting help from a child, and a princess of all things." He rolled his eyes and smirked toward the princess, who took on a battle stance, wielding a wand from behind Nagi.

"My, my, what a brave little one aren't you? You should know by now that little girls such as yourself shouldn't be involved in any adult fights. I'd suggest you prance along with your frilly little dresses before you get your delicate princess-y skin all scratched up."

"Talk all you want, Terma. But the princess you're insulting had done far more for this realm than you with making your village a 'livable' place," Nagi retorted as Terma glared in his direction. "And she's far more intelligent and mature for her age than you could ever hope to be."

"Vouching for her now, are we, Nagi? She's just probably helping you 'cause it's what pesky 'princesses' do, and you and your pathetic villagers would owe her your lives and whatever other nonsense promises you offer her. Of course, she might even just be using you as a means to step up her already higher status so that when she goes home to her little castle, she could talk to her precious little family about how bravely she faced the notorious Terma and his cohorts, and then how she saved the villagers and blah, blah, blah… And they live happily ever after. The end." Terma snarled as he eyed the princess, who wore a blank expression on her face. "I also discovered that she was able to break through the mirage that I had created on the river. Very clever, Princess. I'll give you that."

Nagi could only growl at the admission. He couldn't believe that Terma was the reason for all the water interruptions for all these years. He wouldn't be surprised if he was also the one who started the fire all those years ago that caused their suffering, after seeing a close-up of the second destruction of his own village. If he only just had enough energy, he would have literally wiped off the smirk on the other man's face and fought off the bandits by now. He looked behind him and saw Sofia looking vacantly toward Terma, her hands were shaking. She must have been pretty terrified to encounter this many enemies. He whirled around to glare back at the villains. He would do all that he could to protect the princess, or he would die trying.

"So, here's the deal, Princess," Terma began as he started walking slowly in their direction, like a predator to its prey. "You give us Nagi and you'll get away from this place in one piece. Sounds good, right? _Or_ you can be that annoyingly heroic little girl that you are and die along with him. It's your choice. What's it going to be? Your time is running out." He paused when he was only a few feet from the two.

"You monster! I won't let you lay a finger on her!" Nagi yelled as he shielded Sofia away from the madman that was in front of them.

Sofia was rarely one of those people who got angry so easily, especially during her earlier days at the castle and being the new princess back when she was still just eight years old. She had done a lot of growing up to stand where she was right now. She normally just brushed off all of the negative comments that people threw at her and normally killed them with kindness, as Amber had told her one day after being teased by other princesses because of her upbringing. It wasn't in her nature to be angry at someone for so long. But now that she was twelve and a half and nearing her teenage years… Things were obviously changing.

Sofia clenched her teeth as she glared daggers toward an amused Terma. It was like she couldn't get a hold of her emotions anymore as her anger just came pouring out from her. The older guy was really pushing her buttons, not just because of his little commentary toward her, but also for hurting and burning the homes of the innocent villagers.

Terma cackled at the princess's actions. "Brave you might be, little princess, but I must warn you: you can't escape here unscathed if you choose to face me and my army." His voice lowered as he glowered at the glaring princess before him.

'_We'll see about that'_ Sofia thought as she quickly raised her wand.

"_Lumen Vederent!_"

A super bright light emitted from her wand, blinding all of the bandits in proximity, especially Terma. Sofia quickly grabbed Nagi by his arm and they hurriedly maneuvered themselves away from the bandits. They ran across the still burning houses until they near the forest. Both screamed in pain as they were knocked over by a magical blast from behind them. Sofia quickly stood up, ignoring the bruises that were forming on her body and the rips that had appeared in her protector outfit. She instead aided the weakened Nagi, pulling him carefully to his feet.

Sofia screamed again as she was blasted toward a tree. Her back hit the trunk and she dropped onto the ground with a thud, making her unconscious. Her amulet glowed a little before dimming again.

"Princess Sofia!" yelled Nagi as he tried standing up again. He yelped when he got pulled down once more by his already injured legs. He froze when he heard Terma's laughter amongst the burning village.

"I warned you, _Princess_. Looks like you _are_ going to die with _him_. How unfortunate for you." Terma emerged from the fire along with his cohorts. A dark aura surrounded them as if protecting them from the flames. Nagi's eyes widened in horror.

"Terma, you fiend! You've been using dark magic, haven't you? Are you really this bent on getting revenge against me that you would resort to this level of idiocy?" Nagi yelped as got kicked in the stomach and rolled a few feet from the unconscious princess.

"Do you have any idea how much I've wanted the power that I was forbidden to have? How much my revenge on you has driven me to this point? You pushed me into doing this, Nagi. You could have given us the rights for the river but _no_. I knew you were powerful enough all those years ago when both of our villages had that fight, and I knew I was no match. So, I did what I had to do to get my revenge. I studied the art of dark magic all those years ago. I took a test run and used it against your very own village. Remember that grassfire? And I was finally able to use it on the river to make it disappear. It would have been a successful plan but you and that pesky princess had to interfere." He snarled as he took a step forward from the fallen princess and sorcerer. Nagi coughed as he tried to crawl toward Sofia.

"I knew you were the one responsible for that tragedy. A heartless fellow like you could be the only one behind that horrid mystery. Everything that has happened in your life was all your own doing, Terma. If you keep this up, it will only lead to a path of destruction."

"Maybe that's what I'm aiming for, then." Terma said darkly as he raised a wand in Nagi's direction. "Say nighty-night forever, Nagi."

Terma yelled in pain when a blast of magic shot him in the arm. All the men, including Nagi, turned toward the battered princess, whose hand was unsteadily pointed toward the bandits.

'_I can't give up now_.' She shakily stood to her feet as she walked in front of Nagi. '_I can't let them beat me. I need to distract them. I need to save Mr. Nagi. I need to lead them away from him no matter what_.' She clenched her eyes and gritted her teeth as she barely dodged Terma's attack.

"Pesky princess! I think I'll kill you first!" Terma yelled, hissing when Sofia sent him another powerful blast to his leg. The other bandits were about to move and help him defeat the princess, but he only growled at them with a crazed look in his eyes. "Don't you interrupt me! I'll be the one killing this girl! Understood?!" The bandits quivered in fear before him as they silently watched the man deliver powerful spells toward the exhausted princess.

Sofia panted as her legs gave out, causing her to kneel on the ground. She screamed in pain as her left arm got shot, making it bleed. She hissed in pain when Terma's magic sent her flying into a tree again. She lay on the ground helplessly as the evil sorcerer approached her. Her adrenaline from all the fighting finally left her body and she groaned from the pain and bruises that she had obtained. She ignored all of Nagi's pleas to run away and tried to stand up but to no avail.

'_I'm a brave princess who can withstand any pain. I'm a story keeper who wants to give everyone a happy ending. I'm a protector of the Ever Realm and I __**will**__ protect everyone!_' She declared these thoughts to herself as Terma loomed over her and pointed his wand at her.

"Any last words before I finish you off, Princess?"

Sofia's vision started to swirl around her. '_No,_' she thought. '_I can't go unconscious. Not yet! Please, I need to save Mr. Nagi and everyone else!_' She squeezed her eyes shut as she prepared for the inevitable. '_Is this how I am going to end? Will my family know that their youngest daughter won't be coming home anymore? Will everyone back in the Mystic Isles be disappointed in me for failing my mission? I tried every spell that I knew of to defeat this villain, but… Will Mr. Cedric be disappointed at me for being a bad student? I guess we're not going to that sorcerer's convention that we've talked about attending together a few days ago, Mr. Cedric, and…you'll all be alone there_.' She sniffled as she waited for Terma's attack. Little did she know, her amulet glowed brightly, making the villains cover their eyes in pain. When it dimmed down, the evil sorcerer looked down and snarled at the unsuspecting princess.

"You brat! I'll-!" Terma yelled in pain as he was shot back toward his cohorts by a powerful blast. Nagi, who had been watching helplessly from the sidelines, looked toward the direction from which the blast came. His eyes widened in shock as a tall silhouette of a man, who came out of nowhere, started sprinting toward the princess.

"**Sofia!**"

'_I know that voice_.' Sofia's eyes opened briefly but then closed as clear exhaustion finally overtook her. The last thing she saw before passing out was a sea of purple.

To be continued...


End file.
